Lovesong
by crazycrazyme
Summary: Aurikku. After finishing his tenth drink in a local Farplane bar, Auron decides to register his song writing masterpiece about Rikku. When he gets booted out of his well deserved rest for not reading the fine print, will she still feel the same?
1. And it starts

Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing.  
  
And it starts...  
  
I don't think she ever really understood how I felt about her.  
  
It was pretty simple, really. I was the stoic, uncaring guardian and she was the young, pretty, and caring Al Bhed. She was all blonde hair, revealing clothes, and huge, swirling green eyes.   
  
But, her looks weren't the important part about her. I could have been a blind man and still I would have fallen in love with her.  
  
Yes, in love. Because that was the only way it could be. I never let people past my walls... It was inevitable that the first person who broke through would be the one for me.   
  
But now, I am filled with regrets.   
  
How could I have ever let her know how I felt? I knew that there was little time left. As soon as our summoner, Yuna, did what she came to do, it would be all over. As soon as Yuna defeated Sin...  
  
She would send me. And then, my secret would be out. My love would finally know that I, the legendary guardian Auron, was an unsent.   
  
And Rikku would love me no more.  
  
...........  
  
I awoke in the deep sea, water glittering from the sun above.  
  
Unsure of what was going on or where I was, I swam in the direction of the light. It seemed like I swam for miles before I finally broke through to the surface. Taking a deep breath, I looked wildly around me, trying to figure out where I was.   
  
"No..." I breathed. "It can't be."  
  
I was on the sunny coast of Besaid. 


	2. The Night Before

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own a damn thing. Not the characters, or the song. (The song is "Lovesong" by the Cure, by the way)  
**

I laid back into the water, trying to regain some composure. Confusion took over my brain, making no room for rational thought.  
  
What the hell happened?  
  
I breathed in deep, trying to calm myself, and decided to walk myself through what had happened the night before...  
  
...........  
  
I was sitting at the bar down the road from my house, as usual, when Jecht, Braska, and their wives walked in the door. They grinned at each other when they saw me, then made their way through the busy room to me.  
  
"You're almost worse than me, buddy," Jecht teased.  
  
I grunted. Obviously, he just didn't understand my dilema.  
  
Braska gave him a look and instantly hushed him. Then, he put his hand on my shoulder and turned to me. "Really Auron, what's the matter? I don't believe I've ever seen you like this."  
  
"Nothing is the matter, my lord." I turned back towards the bar and took another gulp of my drink. Maybe, just maybe, if I get drunk enough tonight, I thought, I'll finally forget her...  
  
Braska's wife Jenae winced at my actions, then took a glance at the bar in front of me. There wasn't much there, eight empty glasses, and a napkin with some scribbled words to a song that I only sung in my head. "Auron, what's this?" she said as she picked up the napkin.  
  
I tried to stop her from reading it, tried to snatch it back, but she was much too fast for me. "A song..." I mumbled.  
  
She smiled slowly as she was reading it, almost as if she was amused. But, surprisingly, I didn't even care. I wasn't too worried about her reading it, it was the rest of them that I didn't want to see. I knew that Jenae would understand what I was feeling though.  
  
"It's beautiful, Auron. Would you sing it for me?" She tried to hand me back the napkin, but I shook my head, motioning her to keep it. Then, as quietly as I possibly could, I started to sing it...  
  
_"Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am home again  
Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am whole again  
  
Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am young again  
Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am fun again  
  
However far away  
I will always love you  
However long I stay  
I will always love you  
Whatever words I say  
I will always love you  
I will always love you  
  
Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am free again  
Whenever I'm alone with you  
You make me feel like I am clean again  
  
However far away  
I will always love you  
However long I stay  
I will always love you_

_Whatever words I say  
I will always love you  
I will always love you..."_  
  
The whole entire room was silent when I stopped. "Shit," I breathed. Figures that I would get the whole entire bar's attention just from singing a stupid song. I swallowed the rest of my drink and put my head between my hands.  
  
Then, to my surprise, Braska started clapping. It was slow at first, but it snapped the rest of the people out of the daze they were in from the song, and they started clapping too. Pretty soon, the whole entire bar was thundering with applause.  
  
"I thought I was singing it quietly," I mumbled as I motioned to the bartender to get me another drink.  
  
Jecht laughed as he slapped me on the back. "Maybe at first, but by the end, you were screaming it, buddy."  
  
"Tysh ed," I said, to Jenae's pleasure.  
  
"That's right Auron, if you're going to swear, you better do it in Al Bhed."  
  
"I'll try to keep that in mind," I nodded.  
  
Jecht's wife, Rachelle, had been quiet for the whole conversation, but when the other three started talking among themselves, she slid up to me and whispered into my ear, "Who was that for?"  
  
I paused for a moment, then said, "Rikku."  
  
She smiled, "Yuna's guardian?"  
  
"How else would I have met her?" I asked.  
  
"Good point Auron, you are kind of a homebody when you're not drinking," she grinned.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I smiled.   
  
"Did you tell her how you felt?" My silence answered her question, so she moved on to the next one. "Do you want to?"  
  
I looked at her like she was insane. "Tell her? How exactly am I supposed to tell her, Rachelle? Appear to her as a ghost in a dream, smile at her, say, "Rikku, I'm madly in love with you," and then disappear? She won't think it was real and nothing would have been accomplished. Nothing CAN be accomplished by this. So, I guess I'm just forced to be misrable for eternity, just because I had to go and do something stupid like falling in love." I finished off my speech by finishing off my tenth drink and putting my head on the cool, dirty bar.  
  
"Always the pessimist," she smiled. "There are better ways than dreams to tell someone you love them."  
  
"And how exactly could I do that, Rach?" I glanced at her from under my arms, and I could see that she was laughing at me. But instead of getting angry at her, I just sighed and listened.  
  
"The song... what is it called?"  
  
"Lovesong."  
  
"Ah a simple name... good."  
  
"What are you scheaming at?" I glared at her, but it didn't stop her smile in the sightest. I guess she was used to my drunken glares.  
  
"Do you know how they write songs on Spira, Auron?"  
  
"People get ideas and write them down, correct?"  
  
Her eyes twinkled, and I knew I was in trouble. "Almost, but a good try. Very few songs are written by the people themselves. Most songs are written by us, the people in the Farplane, then given to them in visions or dreams. We're the peoples "muses", you could say."  
  
"What are you trying to say, Rachelle?"  
  
"When one writes a song on the Farplane, you can go to the Song Registry, pick a band that you wish to "write" it, and send it to them via dreams or however you wish for them to get the idea. After that, it's up to clever marketing and good live shows to get it to be famous," she grinned. "But, honestly, most songs written by us in the Farplane never do get popular, it's the original songs by the bands that get the most radio play."  
  
"Well then what exactly is the point?"  
  
"It's worth a try, isn't it?"  
  
I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'll think about it."


	3. The Farplane Song Registry

**Disclaimer: Yes, one day I might, but at the moment, I still don't own a damn thing.**  
  
Disappointed by the fact that I didn't get to beat my current drinking record, I stomped out of the bar. I turned left when reached the door, going the opposite direction from my house. Hopefully, I thought, I could walk the memories away.  
  
_Dancing down the path... giggling... big, spiraling green eyes... Rikku... Rikku..._  
  
"Argh!!!" I screamed at the sky, falling down to my knees. "Rikku," I whispered. "Why are you doing this to me?"  
  
_Glittering woods of Macalania... Singing, swimming... Dancing in the trees... smiling... kissing..._  
  
I nearly started crying. "Oh God, Rikku... Oh God..."  
  
_Crying... "No, it can't be, you're not unsent..." falling... Yuna dancing... falling to her knees... Rikku..._   
  
Tears poured from my eyes, as I rocked with my head between my hands. The memories came to me, one by one, each more painful than the last. Memories of Rikku falling to the ground at the news, her eyes clouding over with pain and something deep and unreadable. How could I have done this to her?  
  
"I tried to keep you away, sweetheart, I really did," I mumbled. I stumbled to my feet, trying to compose myself. It was then, when I was at my worst point of grief, that I saw the sign.  
  
_Farplane Song Registry_  
  
Curious, and remembering all that Rachelle told me, I wiped off my face and walked through the door. Even though it was late in the night, the door opened easily and a cheery bell rung above the door. There wasn't a soul in the room, which was so small I could barely fit myself in. All that I could see was a small pad of paper on a table with some writing on it, and a small chair.  
  
Sitting, I picked up the pad of paper and started reading.   
  
"Hello and welcome to the Farplane Song Registry, Auron! What song would you like to register today?"  
  
"How did you know my name?" I wondered out loud.  
  
More words appeared on the paper. "We know all sorts of things, now what would you like to register?"  
  
"Lovesong," I wrote under the sentence. Then, I wrote the rest of the song in the neatest handwriting that I possibly could, making sure I got every word right.  
  
"Good," the words appeared. "Now sing it for us, so we know the melody."  
  
I smiled and started singing softly. "Whenever I'm alone with you..."  
  
"Very good. What band would you like to play this?"  
  
"You pick," I wrote. "I don't know any good bands."  
  
"Okay. Now if would would just pay one hundred gil and sign this contract that clearly states..." A scroll plopped out of nowhere and as I unrolled it, I saw that the words gradually got smaller and that there was a LOT of fine print.   
  
"You have got to be kidding me..." I mumbled. I pulled my wallet out of my coat and fingered the one hundred gil. "Well, I guess this is the best way I could spend this." I decided just to skim the contract, because I was far too impatient to read the whole thing. "The band may play it without paying any gil to you... blah blah blah... slim chance that intended will even hear it... blah blah blah... will not be popular... blah blah blah..." I scribbled my name at the bottom of the scroll, and it rolled away and vanished.  
  
The pad of paper cleared of all writing, except for the words "Thank you for using the Farplane Song Registry!" at the top.  
  
I grinned and walked out of the shop, my mind clear of everything but the thought of Rikku hearing my song.  
  
...........  
  
I blinked open my eye at the bright sunlight. The water was cool and calm, sparkling as the light hit it in every which way. Floating was possible for me, but difficult, with my large red coat holding me down.   
  
"Hell, I might as well go swimming." I smiled and turned onto my stomach, moving towards the large beach of the island of Besaid. 


	4. Happy Dance

**Disclaimer: Yeah, that's me. The girl who doesn't own a damn thing.  
**  
I swam parallel to the beach, trying to find a place where I wouldn't be noticed. There were a few families sitting around and I didn't want them to recognise me.  
  
"Ah, there's a spot," I said outloud. It was on the other side of the large dock, away from the families and not really even on the beach. Perfect spot to regain my composure. I mean, it's not every day one gets booted out of the Farplane, is it?  
  
I pulled myself out of the water, dripping all over the sand. Taking off my coat, I stretched out and checked myself for any bumps and bruises. Then, I tried to get water out of my face.  
  
"... What the hell?" I exclaimed. As I felt my face, I realized that the scar that rendered one of my eyes useless for the past ten years had gone completely missing. "I... I can see?" I gasped. Then, realizing that I breathed in for the first time in ten years, I gasped again. "I can breathe!"  
  
I put my hand over the eye that was never closed and looked out of the other one. I could see the water, the beach, the trees... Everything was perfect! I didn't have one bit of a problem with my vision. Air came in and out of my lungs and I could feel my heart beating under my hand.  
  
Considering I was alone and I just had recieved some of the best news of my whole life, I decided this was the best time for a happy dance.  
  
...........  
  
I had a feeling that if Jecht and Braska could have seen me then, they would have probably fell on the ground from laughing so hard. I mean, here I was, the cold, stoic guardian, happy dancing on a beach because I was refused my rightfully deserved eternal rest on the Farplane.   
  
I had no idea why I was back on Spira. I just figured that it was something that I would find out when I had to. But, for the moment, I was pretty content in knowing that I was alive again.  
  
Now that I got the whole "being alive" business out of the way, I remembered something important. I was on the island of Besiad, if my vision was correct. That means...  
  
Yuna was here, along with Wakka and Lulu. And that meant...  
  
"Rikku!" I exclaimed outloud.  
  
I took in a deep breath, calming myself. I knew that there must have been something seriously wrong with me, because my personality was changing right before my eyes. I was becoming... optimisic?   
  
"Oh God," I said. "Someone save me now."  
  
I decided that walking through the woods to the small village on the island would be the smartest thing to do. Less people would see me, and I could save the surprise of me being back for people I actually cared about.  
  
Or, more truthfully, the _person _I actually cared about.  
  
While I was quietly walking between the trees, I could hear the bustle of the village up ahead. People were talking, children were running and laughing... The atmosphere was completly different from the last time I was here. Before, everyone was quiet, they hid in their homes, anticipating the coming of Sin. Now, they could actually enjoy their lives.  
  
All due to High Summoner Yuna, I thought.   
  
I could hear a song being played loudly in the small hut in front of me, and I could hear a girl screaming the words inside. I grinned, thinking of how Rikku used to scream out the words to songs, spinning along the paths we walked on.   
  
__

__

_"Come on, Auron! Dance with me," Rikku laughed as she spun, her hands above her head.  
  
"I'm not really the dancing type," I grunted.  
  
"Bullcrap Auron, we're ALL the dancing type. Now come on!" she smiled as she grabbed my hands and spun me around the path, laughing the whole way._

_  
_  
I walked over to the entrance of the hut and knocked on the door. No one answered, which I expected, considering that music that she was listening to was SO damn loud.   
  
So, I just walked in. And when I did, I nearly had a heart attack.  
  
Three surprising things were happening at the moment.   
  
One, Yuna was the girl who was screaming.  
  
Two, Yuna was spinning around the room, dancing in her underwear.  
  
And three, the words that Yuna was screaming were none other than the words to Lovesong, by none other than yours truely.  
  
The last thing that I saw was Yuna's surprised bi-colored eyes before everything went black.


	5. Confidence, Maturity, and Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing.**  
  
My head pounded in ways that I only thought could be accomplished in torture chambers when I finally came to. I groaned outloud and tried to open my eyes, but the room was far too bright for that to happen.  
  
"Sir Auron, you need your rest," someone nearby said. A squint in the direction of the voice showed me that it was Yuna, but she was barely recognisable to me. Revealing clothes... short hair... dancing in her _underwear_? What ever happened to the modest summoner that I left behind?  
  
"You've changed," I mumbled.  
  
"Confidence, maturity, and love do that to a person," she smiled.  
  
I tried to sit up, but it didn't work out for me, and I just landed right back on my pillow. Opening my eyes a tad bit more, I realized that I was inside Yuna's hut, laying on her couch. She was bustling around nearby, fixing me a tray of food.  
  
"Don't bother with the food," I said gruffly. "Where's my sake?"  
  
"You are NOT getting drunk right now, Sir Auron. Not when I need some answers from you," she said sternly.  
  
Answers? Vilg. "I don't know any more than you do right now."  
  
"Well, you must, considering you showed up at my doorstep alive, and then fainted at my feet."  
  
"Fainted? More like died again..." I grumbled.  
  
"It's nice to know that you're still so optimistic," she giggled.  
  
I had a feeling that she wouldn't have been giggling so much if she had seen me a few hours before. I shook my head, embarrassed at myself. I did a happy dance? On a beach where people could see me? Great. Just great. "It's always been one of my strong points."  
  
She giggled again, then set the tray of food in front of me. It was all pretty normal stuff; soup, bread, and fruit. I noticed that my coat was far across the room, along with my sake.  
  
Shit, I thought. I guess I'm going to have to eat this.  
  
To tell you the truth, my mind wasn't on food at all. My mind was on figuring out why I was here, why my song was on the radio at Yuna's house, and where Rikku was. Basic nessecities weren't very high on my list.  
  
"Eat," she smiled as she messed with the pillow behind my head.  
  
...........  
  
"So, let me get this straight," Yuna said after nearly an hour of prodding me for answers. "You last remember drinking?"  
  
"Oh yes," I said, then smiled at her. "I was drinking rather excessivly."  
  
"For some reason, I don't have a problem picturing that."  
  
I sighed, then looked her directly in the eye. "Look... I have no idea why I'm here, or what my purpose is right now. But I do have a few questions for you."  
  
"Go ahead," she said.  
  
I breathed in, trying to figure out how to word the question that was most prominant on my mind. She smiled at me, then did something I found very suprising.  
  
"Rikku is in Luca. She should be back tomorrow, though with her I never know."  
  
My mouth dropped open, and Yuna grinned. "What," she said, "you think that I was completely blind on my pilgrimage?"  
  
"To everything but Tidus, yes."  
  
Her eyes clouded over and I knew I said the wrong thing. "Yuna... He didn't come back, did he?"  
  
She looked out the window as she spoke, avoiding my eyes. I knew that if I looked deep enough, I would find pain within them. "I've whistled every day..." she whispered.  
  
"He'll come," I said with a confidence that I didn't feel.  
  
We paused for a few moments, neither wanting to disturb the fragile environment. Then, she looked at me with the most false smile I've ever seen painted across her face. "But anyway, we were talking about you and Rikku."  
  
"What do you know?"  
  
"Only what I read between the glances, and what Rikku has told me so far." She paused for a moment, reading my expression, and then continued. "But the person you really need to talk to about this is Rikku, not me."  
  
"Very well. Answer me a different question then."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What was that song that was playing on the radio when I walked in?"  
  
She looked at me oddly, as if antlers had suddenly sprouted out of my head. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Just humor me, Yuna. It's been an odd day."  
  
"That was the newest song by Blitz, a band from Luca. It was called Lovesong, I believe. It's actually really popular now, which I thought was surprising. It's not often that a song that good actually gets some radio play," she smiled as she stood up from the chair next to my bed. "But, I think you need to get some rest, Sir Auron. I need to go run some errands, but if you need anything, feel free to run next door. Lulu will surely be home."  
  
"Thanks..." I mumbled as she ran out of the door. Sinking back into the couch, I could feel my headache returning.  
  
_"What does screaming out the words to songs accomplish, Rikku?"_

_The corners of her mouth turned up as she tried to find some sort of actual reasoning. I could hardly believe how cute she looked when she was thinking hard about something. "I only scream them when they make me feel."_

_"Feel?"_

_"Something. ANYTHING. I don't know if you would understand this, Auron, but some things produce feelings of extreme quantities. And when a song produces a feeling within me, the only thing that I can do is scream the words out loud."_

_"Ah," I nodded, contemplating her answer._

__

The song was popular. Shit. But that wasn't really what worried me.

The question that kept popping to my mind was, would Rikku scream the words to the song I wrote for her? Or would she listen, smile carefully, and just let the feelings pass her by?

I contemplated that until I fell into a deep, dreamfilled sleep.


	6. The Contract

**AN: Thank you, reviewers! Your comments mean a lot to me**

**Disclaimer: Except for my copy of the game, my few extra characters, and Auron's OOC personality, I don't own a damn thing.**

"So you did it," a woman's voice spoke behind me.

Where the hell am I? I glanced around me and found I still in Yuna's hut, but it looked different, somehow. There was a deep fog that rolled over the floor, and she was nowhere to be found.

Someone grabbed my shoulder, and I spun around quickly, grabbing for my katana. They gasped, and when I looked up, I realized that I nearly drew my sword on both Rachelle and Jenae. Rachelle had her hand on my shoulder, but she took it back, choosing instead to play with her hair. Jenae... well, she just stared at me.

"Sorry..." I mumbled. "I didn't know it was you."

"Obviously," Jenae said sarcastically. She looked at my katana, then said, "Here, let me help you out with that." Instead of grabbing at it, like I believed she would, she snapped her fingers up in the air.

Instantly, my katana disappeared into thin air.

My mouth dropped open. "How..."

"You're dreaming, sweetie," Rachelle said to me. I glared due to the use of that endearment, but I didn't say anything, and they both smiled at my expression.

"And I must say, you look really spiffy without that scar on your face," Jenae teased.

"Drop dead gorgeous, really."

They continued back and forth for a minute about the state of my appearance, but considering I had no idea how long this dream was going to take, I didn't need them to waste my time. "Why am I here?" I asked pointedly.

"The question isn't why are you here, Auron. Now ask the real question you came here to ask," Rachelle smiled.

"Ah..." I cleared my throat, then continued. "Why am I alive again?"

"There you go," Jenae grinned.

"To tell you the truth, it was rather a surprising development. We had no idea that you would get drunk off your ass, submit a song, and then disappear into thin air," Rachelle said nonchalauntly. "But, considering that you get drunk off your ass every night, I doubt it had anything to do with that. The only thing that you did the other day that was out of the ordinary was submitting that song. And there is where the answer lies, I believe."

"I heard it on the radio."

Both of their mouths dropped open. "You WHAT?" Jenae shouted.

I shrank back a bit, realizing that without my katana, these two women were far more dangerous than any fiend I had ever come across. "Yuna was dancing around in her underwear, screaming it," I said, shuddering as the image came back into my brain.

Both were so surprised that they fell silent for almost a minute. "Well, isn't this interesting," Rachelle breathed. "Shy little Yuna, screaming a song in her underwear."

"Probably the first time she's ever done that..." Jenae whispered.

"That's not really important right now, you two," I grumbled.

"Oh, but it is. If Yuna had that reaction to it, I can only imagine the reaction the rest of Spira had... Oh my God..." Jenae continued.

"What... What?" I asked uncomfortably, as they both stared at my face.

"Did you read the fine print, Auron?" Jenae snapped.

"I... um... well..." Caught in the act, I stumbled around my words for a moment.

Rachelle snapped her fingers, and the contract scroll appeared in front of us. Jenae grabbed it, unrolled it, and handed it to me, pointing at a paragraph near the end of the page.

"_Although it has never been done before, in the case that a song submitted becomes famous on Spira, another chance at life will be given, but with a cost. The reaction of the inspiration of the song means everything. If they enjoy the song and it touches a part of them, life will be fully returned. But, if it doesn't touch them, or if their feelings have changed in any way since subject was in the Farplane, subject will return to the Farplane without a moments notice. But, the inspiration can NOT know that the song was by subject, and must find it touching on their own. Any persuasion with result in imediate departure to the Farplane."_

"Cred... Cred cred cred vilg cred... Fryd ryja E tuha?" I mumbled.

"You've given yourself another chance, that's what you've done," Jenae smiled.

"And you really need to stop that swearing problem of yours, Auron. How ever will Rikku love someone with such a dirty mouth?" Rachelle teased.

Wounded by her comment, I looked at my feet. Rachelle instantly realized her slip, and both women grabbed my hands, talking at once.

"Don't worry, she loves you, I know it!"

"Nothing could change her feelings for you, sweetie."

Their hands started fading in my grasp, and with a look in their eyes, I knew that my time was up. I pulled them both into an embrace, thanking them for all they've done for me. They both smiled with tears in their eyes, caused by their pride for me. Amazing how these two women could take care of me, I thought.

My voice cracked with emotion, realizing that I may not see them for a long time. "How long was I gone?"

"Two years, sweetie," Rachelle whispered.

"Ev oui haat yhodrehk, zicd cyo dra funt," Jenae smiled, lapsing back into Al Bhed.

"Goodbye..." And with that last word and a nod, they both faded away.

. . . . . . . . . . .

I sucked air into my lungs, launching myself from the couch. Looking around, I saw that I was back in Yuna's hut, without even the slightest traces of Rachelle or Jenae anywhere. The air was clear, without any signs of the fog that had engulfted my mind only moments before.

I laid back on the couch, feeling idiotic. Of course it was a dream, I thought to myself. I glanced around the room, my eyes settling on a table directly in front of the couch. It had piles and piles of papers on it, but one thing didn't look right about it.

My hands came forth of their own accord, and my fingertips grazed the yellowed edges of a scroll. I picked it up, wondering why I didn't feel guilty for snooping through Yuna's belongings. But, curiosity got the best of me, and almost before I even unrolled it the slightest, I knew what it was.

Jenae and Rachelle had left the contract for me.


	7. Porcelain In My Hands

**Disclaimer: Other than this Propel Fitness water thats helping me stay awake this morning and the other songs that I just might use in this story , I really don't own a damn thing.**

After settling down a bit after my dream, I glanced up at the clock above the couch.

Hmm. Four o'clock in the morning. I should have known I could never sleep in.

I looked around the hut for a second, trying to regain my bearings. Yuna was laying on her bed, her white tank top and blue cloud pajama pants twisted up so much that I was surprised that she could breathe. But breathe she did, because you have to breathe in order to snore, and Yuna was snoring loudly. How come she never seemed to snore on the pilgrimage?

Leaving that question for another time, I decided it was time for me to get up. I crossed the room quietly, reaching for my crimson coat hanging above the door. Putting it on, I moved to her kitchen, grabbed a piece of fruit, and walked out of the door.

The island was quiet this morning, barely any life moving through the village. I strolled leisurely, realizing that I never had a moment to just walk around the last time I was alive, and when I was in the Farplane, the only time I walked around was to walk to the bar and walk back home. My feet picked their own direction and I started off towards the path out of the village.

Fiends were few and far between on Besaid these days, I noticed as I walked through the woods. The path trailed by the waterfalls, near cliffs, and finally I started walking on the sand near the beach. The moon was still above me and the sun wasn't even beginning to rise yet, but I decided to sit around and wait for it to come. There were a few boats and airships docked off to the side of the beach, but I decided not to pay any attention to those. Instead, I took off my coat and laid down on the sand.

Thoughts of Rikku came over me as I smiled up at the stars. I wondered what she was doing right this second, whether the spirals in her eyes still lit up the same. I wondered if she still spun in circles to entertain herself, or if she still huddled in to a ball and cried during a thunderstorm.

I wondered if she still felt anything for me.

I knew that the likelyhood of Rikku still being in love with me was slim to none. There were so many guys younger, who had more money and could take care of her better. What would she want to do with someone like me?

_"I came here to be alone, Rikku," I said sternly._

_She paused for a moment, sheilded by the trees deep inside Macalania Woods. Then, shaking her head slightly, she moved forward, passing me by slightly to stare at the small lake I had taken up residence near. "I don't care what you came here to do," she said slowly. "I came here to talk to you, and I intend to do it."_

_Sighing with exasperation, I shook my head. "Go back to camp."_

_"No!" she shouted. "I want to know what you're not telling me. You're holding something back, and I know it's important, and I know it can make or break us. You act as if I'm a small child who can't figure out things on my own... well I can, and I know that something is wrong." She started shaking, and her head dropped into her hands. "Something is wrong..." she mumbled._

_Before I even knew what I was doing, I was up on my feet and walking towards her. Glimpsing her eyes for only a moment, I took her into my arms and rocked her back and forth. "I would tell you if I could," I whispered._

_What would she do if she knew I was unsent? The thought penetrated my mind, but all I could really focus on was the girl trembling in my arms. She was like porcelain in my hands, beautiful and breakable, and I knew I had to tread carefully. _

_She sucked in air through her lungs and clutched onto my coat. I could hear the tears in her voice as she started mumbling softly into my chest. "Stupid, stupid me," she whispered as I stroked her back. "I should have known better..."_

_"Better than what?" I said carefully, wondering what she meant._

_"Better than to fall in love with the one person who would never love me back." With that statement, she let go of my coat and stepped away, backing into the shadows._

_"Wait..." I whispered as I held my hand up to stop her._

_She paused, then turned away from me, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to keep the feelings inside. "I should have known better..." she whispered again as she left me in her wake, eyes closed and shaking, hands still reaching out to touch her._

I sat up, hands closing into fists as I remembered that night. She showed her pain so easily, and I turned her concern away. Oh, if only to have that one night back... I could have done things so differently.

She fell in love without knowing my secrets, and now, after she found out, I wondered if she still could find it in her soul to love me. It's been two years, but maybe I could convince her somehow. Maybe I could find something in me to touch a bit of her soul again.

Or maybe I couldn't, and I would just fade away again.

...........

I could feel the hum of the airships in the ground, starting their engines before the day began. The sky turned a gorgeous shade of pink and the sun started it's daily trek up to the clouds.

And all I could do is smile at my memories.

I remembered the way she would sit at the fire, the way that light would attach to her features and make her look like an angel. I remembered the way she would tell us all the latest song she had fallen in love with, and scream them as she spun circles around me. Her eyes would be closed, her hair would come undone, but she didn't care.

I heard something different off of my right shoulder, and I instantly turned, looking for the source of the sound. Someone else was sitting in the sand, and they were also looking at the sunrise. Feeling friendly, I stood up and made my way farther down the beach towards them.

I paused in my tracks though at the sight before me. The person, a girl of no more than 18, had her head in her hands, crying. Feeling a bit of dejavu, I stepped slowly, but paused when I heard her whispering.

"Whatever words I say... I will always love you... I will always love you..."

I stopped short and gasped, hearing the words of my song come off of her lips like it was meant to be. I caught her attention by doing so, and she jumped off of the ground, drawing two blades in midair, and landing just in front of me.

I couldn't breathe. It wasn't possible. "It can't be..." I whispered.

Blonde hair done up into so many braids it stuck up from the top of her bandana... A skimpy bikini top and skirt... The very same green spirals that haunted me in my dreams...

"Auron..." Rikku breathed as she dropped her weapons to the ground. Then, very much to my surprise, she bolted off in the direction of the airship, without even a second glance back.


	8. How Could Anyone Deny You?

**AN: I would like to do a big YIPPEE for the reviewers, because it's your constant support that keeps the happy dances flowing, lol.**

**Disclaimer: Other than the Diet Pepsi I'm drinking, I really don't own a damn thing. (The new song on here is _Green Eyes _by Coldplay. I just figured we needed some new song action, lol)**

"Rikku!" I shouted as I took off after her. She ignored me and kept running as fast as she could, in the direction of the airships docked on the far end of the beach.

Her reaction to the sight of me wasn't exactly the best reaction I've ever gotten, but considering the circumstances, and the fact that I just recently had rose from the dead, I could understand. That didn't stop me from chasing after her at the fastest I could run, though.

She was fleeing in blind panic, it seemed. Her hair was streaming behind her, beads flying everywhere. The strings keeping her top up seemed to be coming undone, but she payed no attention and just kept her attention on the huge airship directly in front of her.

Being that her focus was on the airship and not on the sand in front of her, I could also understand why she didn't see the log directly in her path.

"Wait, Rikku, LOOK OUT!" I screamed just before she stepped on the log, tripped, and landed face first into the sand.

I caught up with her in an instant, and dove down next to her, checking for injuries.

"Oh..." Rikku groaned outloud. She rolled over and lifted her head, which just so happened to be covered in sand. All of the beads that were in her hair before littered the beach behind us, the bandana holding it up was barely on her head, and her hair stood up in the middle like a chocobo. Her face was smudged with dirt and she had the most disgusted expression on her face.

She was absolutly beautiful.

I must have had the most goofy expression on my face as she squinted up at me, the spirals of her green eyes glinting in the sunrise. She took in a deep breath, paused for a second, and then started speaking.

"It's not you. It cannot possibly be you."

"Ah, but it is," I grinned at her, but I don't think she really understood the goodness of the situation. She kept staring at me as if I was just a shoopuf that so happened to take residence in her kitchen.

"This can't be happening... This can't be happening to me..." she muttered as she started to stand up, but I stopped her.

"No, you're not getting up, Rikku. I'm still not sure if you're alright."

"I'm alright!" she snapped. "And if you would excuse me, I have to leave."

I grunted, staring her down with eyes, and she squirmed in her spot. She looked down at her feet and clasped her hands behind her back, which I knew was a sign that she was nervous and uncomfortable. The corners of my mouth turned up at the sight of her, sweaty and covered in sand. But I knew in my heart that she looked more beautiful right now than any time I had ever seen her before.

"You do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not."

"Do too, do too, do TOO!" she shouted, then shrunk back in embarrassment.

I started laughing, realizing that we just did the most childish thing possible. It had been awhile since I argued with someone like that. In fact, the last time I argued with someone like that was two years ago, when I was talking to her. Just another reason why I loved her, I supposed.

She didn't find the situation quite as funny as I did though, and with a glare, a grunt, and a spin of the heel, she started off in the direction of her airship, walking in a perfectly dignified way. Or so she thought, considering her clothes were twisted up, one of her shoes was in the sand behind her, and she had a large dirt smudge across both of her shoulders.

"You are such a meanie..." she said as she walked away.

. . . . . . . . . . .

I decided to wait a few minutes before going after her. Hopefully, she would calm down slightly and we could both be a tad bit more mature the next time we started talking.

In the meantime, I reached into my coat pocket and got out a paper napkin and a pen. A new song came to mind when I saw her, and I knew that it was one worth writing down. Sitting down on the sand, I started to scratch the words across the surface, singing it at the same time.

_"Honey, you are a rock  
__Upon which I stand  
__And I come here to talk  
__I hope you understand_

_The green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines down on you  
__And how could anybody deny you?_

_I came here with a load  
__And it feels so much lighter now I met you  
__And honey, you should know  
__That I could never go on without you  
__Green eyes_

_Honey, you are the sea  
__Upon which I float  
__And I came here to talk  
__I think you should know_

_The green eyes, you're the one I wanted to find  
__And anybody who tried to deny you, must be out of their mind_

_Because I came here with a load  
__And it feels so much lighter since I met you  
__Honey, you should know  
__That I could never go on without you  
__Green eyes, green eyes_

_Honey, you are a rock  
__Upon which I stand"_

Satisfied with the words, I grinned, then sung them again for good measure. I could picture Jenae and Rachelle rocking out to the song in the bar, and it made me laugh outloud.

Picking myself up, I started off in the direction of the airships. I hummed both of my songs to myself, finally cheerful because I actually saw her again. I may not have gotten the best reaction, but it was okay. Just seeing Rikku and hearing her voice was enough for me.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Sounds of a girl screaming snapped me out of my daze. My eyes scanned the entire beach, searching for the source of the sound. There was a group of people surrounding someone near the airships, and I started to move closer, to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat.

It was a group of soliders, maybe forty or fifty of them. How did I not notice them before?

And in the middle of the group was Rikku, trying to fight her way out.

"Help me!" she screamed, wrestling against the grip of the men.

Then, the sight of me caught her eye. She screamed as loud as she could, fighting towards me. "Auron, please!"

"Rikku, I'm coming!" I shouted as I gripped my katana in my hand, preparing to fight.

"You will do no such thing," a man behind me said calmly. I spun towards the sound, trying to catch a glimpse of the source, but he was faster than me. "We need the presence of Lady Rikku, and you will NOT get in our way."

Then, without a moments warning, I felt a blow to my head, and the world went black.


	9. Wish You Were Here

**AN: I'm going to be gone for a few days, so there will be no new chapters until I come back... but I promise I'll update as soon as I'm back! I have a feeling that some huge ideas are coming... Wink wink**

**Disclaimer: I am the queen of not owning a damn thing.**

It was dark, murky in a way. It almost seemed as if the light had to fight past a brick wall to find it's way into the room. Shadows lurked in every corner, and I fought to keep my eyes towards the light.

I felt neither alive, nor dead. With that realization, I knew that I must have been dreaming. Either that, or I just became the king of the In Between, the space in between Spira and the Farplane. I hoped that wasn't the case, but knowing the odd things that have happened the past few days, I couldn't put the thought out of my mind.

I was floating, though. Somewhere near the ceiling, I had taken up my momentary residence, and I had the perfect birds eye view of the entire room. Using that to my advantage, I searched for any sign of life below me.

Then, luckily, I saw the gleam of some blonde hair leaning against a wall, in the corner of the room. I breathed a sigh of relief and floated my way above her, watching and waiting for what happened.

"Are you Lady Rikku, legendary guardian to the High Summoner Yuna?" a voice from the shadows called.

Rikku stood up to her full height and looked towards the person in the shadows. I could see that she was trying to shake her fear off, but it still reached her eyes. And just for that very reason, I wanted to mutilate these people for doing this to her.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Do you understand why you're here?" the voice asked again.

"No," she said as she shook her head. She wasn't speaking much, I noticed. I was proud though. It's always a good move not to speak too much until you know what your situation is.

"In that case, my dear, we cannot inform you anything. All that I can tell you is that you shall be here for awhile. Do you need anything?"

I saw fury flicker behind those deep green depths and I knew that the guard, solider, or whoever that was sneaking around in the shadows was in for it. "Do NOT call me "my dear," sir. You cannot keep me in this place against my will, so therefore, the thing that I need is to get out of here. Do you understand THAT?" she said sharply.

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a grin as I watched her address the person in the shadows. He must have felt some kind of shock, considering he hadn't been able to get more than one word answers out of her previously. I almost felt bad for him... _almost._ Suddenly, I heard the rustling of his clothes move and heard him mutter something under his breath.

A thunder spell came out of nowhere and knocked Rikku off of her feet.

I tried to rush over to her, catch her before she hit the ground, but I found that I lost all ability to move. I was a fly stuck to the wall, almost as if I had been sprayed with something.

I felt something soft brush past my face, and heard a whispering in my ear. _"Auron..." _it said_, "You are only here to stay informed of the situation. Do not push your luck."_

Focusing back on the scene in front of me, I heard the man snicker as Rikku layed on the ground, moaning and sniffling. "I fear, my dear, that you are the one who doesn't understand." And with those words, I felt him swiftly leave, disappearing into the wall behind him.

And all Rikku did at that moment was curl herself into a ball on the ground and cry.

Come on Rikku, I thought to myself. You're tougher than this. Then, I heard her words coming softly off of her lips.

"Oh, Auron..." she sighed. "I wish you were here."

. . . . . . . . . . .

I faded away without even realizing it, and landed into a completely different room. Confused, I glanced around, but I couldn't really put my finger on anything distinctive about this room.

Suddenly, I felt two hands brushing past my face, and I sighed with relief.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry you had to see that," Rachelle whispered. I spun, looking around for her and Jenae, but I couldn't see either of them.

"You're still passed out, Auron," Jenae said. "You got a pretty hard whack upside the head back there, and we used it to our advantage."

I nodded and said nothing at all, instead chosing to listen to what they had to say. I knew that if I was brought in their presence again, something huge had to be happening.

"We're not exactly sure how many times we'll be able to do that."

"But we're going to try damn hard to make sure that you're completely updated on the situation."

"Who are they?" I murmured. "Why did they do that?"

They both paused, and I had a feeling that if I could see them they would have glanced between them, small smiles on their faces. "We... well, we really don't know, sweetie."

"And if we did know, I'm bnaddo tysh cina that we wouldn't be allowed to tell you," Jenae laughed, lapsing back into Al Bhed for a moment.

"But, another journey is starting, are you ready?"

"A journey to save Rikku?" I asked.

"That, and many other things. Sweetie, you're going to have to save the world again, along with the rest of the guardians, I believe."

I shook my head, thinking of the peace that the other guardians were finally getting to reach. "I can't make them come."

"Oh, believe me, they're pretty tysh ready to get moving again. All this peace gets boring, you know?"

"Yuna, especially, is ready to get moving again. But if you wish to go alone..."

"I'll think about it," I cut her off. Both of the girls burst out laughing, remembering the last time I said that phrase, all of this trouble got started.

And with a snap of their fingers ringing in my ears, I woke up.


	10. A New Journey

**AN: I'm back! And I have a question for you guys... I am usually inspired by songs. So, I wasn't sure if I should just stick the lyrics that inspire me for the chapter at the top of the page Aka Rhianna-Aurora style or do what I have done the past couple of times, have Auron write them (or Rikku sing them, whatever the case). Opinions, anyone? I don't want to copy off of Rhianna-Aurora, it's just that seemed like the easiest way to go about it... but I dunno, you guys tell me what to do for this one.**

**Oh, and I have to say hello and thank you to my diehard reviewers, who say all sorts of funny wonderful things and leave me smiling on a day to day basis. You guys rock! I wrote a long chapter for you....**

**Disclaimer: Except for the notepad on my lap, I don't own a damn thing.**

The glare off of the water was blinding when I opened my eyes. I could feel sand in every crook and crany of my body, including my mouth. And, I had the worst migrane of my entire life.

Are migranes only something that living, breathing people get? Because I know not ONCE in the past ten years that I had been unsent, had I ever been taken out by a dinky little headache.

Well, anyway, I felt like shit.

I tried to roll over, get off my back so that I could get up and get started on this brand new journey to find Rikku, but it didn't work out. All the movement ended up doing was making me rock back and forth in the sand, digging myself into a rut.

This, of course, had to be the way that I, Sir Auron, Legendary Guardian to not one but _two _summoners, was found. Flopping like a big, red fish on the beach.

"Sir Auron!" Yuna exclaimed.

I must have grunted in response, because the next thing I knew, she dove down next to me, spraying sand into my face.

"Sir Auron, what happened?" I heard another voice ask calmly.

"You had us worried, disappearing like that, ya?"

Oh vilg, tish... not only was I found in the embarrassing situation, but it had to be by Yuna and two other guardians from the pilgrimage, Lulu and Wakka. I put my hand up to my face and looked at all of them, Yuna leaning close to me, Wakka and Lulu standing farther back, and I grinned. Ah, what a family I do have.

Although I had heard stories of Lulu and Wakka's friendship dating far back in time, I never really could understand what first sparked any intrest between them. To me, there was never an unliklier pair than those two. Lulu was stern, quiet, and standoffish. Wakka was goofy, loud, and opinionated to a fault. I knew that there were reasons for the differences in their personalities, and it all came down to Chappu, Wakka's brother and Lulu's fiance. At least, he was Lulu's fiance before he was killed fighting Sin, using Al Bhed machina. The situation explained Lulu's depression and inability to open up, and Wakka's deep hatred of the Al Bhed. Most of the time, it seemed as if Chappu was the only connection between those two, and if it wasn't for him, they never would have dealt with each other at all.

But here they were, rock solid as always. The belts from Lulu's dark corset dress, same as she wore during the pilgrimage, glinted in the sunlight, and the sticks holding her hair in a mass of braids was as straight as before. Wakka's bright red hair was gravity defying, like usual, and he was wearing the same uniform from the Besiad Auroch blitzball team as he always did.

Finally, two people who never changed.

Well, at least, that was what I thought.

I squinted past Yuna's concerned face to scope out the situation between the both of them. Something seemed... off. Different. Then, it hit me.

They were standing shoulder to shoulder, holding hands.

The pounding of my head grew tenfold as I sunk back into the sand, shocked. The mood of the three in front of me suddenly went cheerful, as they realized what I had just figured out. Yuna grinned back at the two lovebirds, and Wakka put his arm around Lulu, grinning like a lunatic.

"Yuna didn't tell ya? Me and Lu are married now!"

Oh God. I squeezed my eyes shut. It figures that the most unlikely pair in Spira were not only together, but thriving.

In a way, it was a good thing, because it made a couple like Rikku and I suddenly look a lot more likely.

But on the other hand, Wakka and Lulu?

"I was not informed of that. Congratulations," I mumbled.

The corners of Lulu's mouth turned up into a rare smile. "I suppose it must be somewhat of a shock for you, Sir Auron. But that's not important right now..."

Yuna's face fell back into a worried expression as she nodded a few times. "Yes, we can all talk about that later. But what happened? Are you hurt?"

"Do you still practice white magic, Yuna?" I interrupted. She nodded entusiastically. "In that case, cast a bit of Curaga on my skull, will you? I'm surprised my head didn't crack in half."

Yuna's hands moved over my face instantly, and she started softly chanting the spell. A white light glowed around her hands and my body, and suddenly, I felt much better.

"Thanks," I nodded as I stood up, leaning on my katana for support.

Lulu looked around the beach for a moment, then came to a realization. "Rikku was supposed to come back today, wasn't she?"

Memories of what happened hit me like a rock. "She's... gone," I said, my voice cracking.

"Gone?" the three gasped at once. They looked shocked, and I couldn't blame them. Hell, I was shocked too.

I paused for a moment, swallowing hard. "A group of soliders... attacked her... took her away... I couldn't save her..." I said brokenly. I felt silly for a moment, letting these three see how I really felt, but then I realized if anyone were to know, and could help me out in any way, it would be them.

And how did I feel about this? Crushed, broken, horrible. Rikku was out there, getting fucking _tortured_, and all I could do is sit here with a headache. I couldn't even save her... I couldn't even beat through those soliders, past that man behind me, run up and save her.

No, instead she was drug away before my very eyes, tortured in front of me, and left for dead, crying and whispering my name.

My headache came back full force as I leaned forward a bit too far, nearly tumbling onto the sand again. "Sir Auron!" Yuna gasped. Wakka and Lulu ran forward and the three caught me at once, holding me up while my legs were a bit too weak to work.

"I think we should go find somewhere to sit down," Lulu spoke.

...........

The three sitting in front of me, in the living room of Yuna's house, were speechless after I calmed down and explained what happened in detail. I told them about everything, including the out of body experience on the ceiling. The only thing I didn't mention was that I had been communicating with Rachelle and Jenae, because I felt they didn't need to know.

Wakka was the first to break the silence. "Sounds like something Yevon would do, ya?"

"Yes... but that doesn't seem likely, considering they are mostly out of power. The people of Spira do not trust as easily now, and new political parties are rising up. What would Yevon want to do with Rikku?" Lulu, the voice of reason, spoke up.

"They mentioned Yuna," I brought up. "They wanted to know if she was _Lady_ Rikku, Legendary Guardian to High Summoner Yuna. They also didn't speak Al Bhed, which leaves an Al Bhed conspiracy out of this."

"If it was an Al Bhed conspiracy, they would have kidnapped her for being Cid's daughter, not for being my guardian," Yuna pointed out. She paused for a moment and looked at her hands, clasping together in her lap. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Why did they do this? If they wanted me to do something, say something, they should have informed me! Not taken Rikku!"

"They knew she was afraid of thunder," Lulu said quietly. Then, seeing the look on my face, stood up and crossed the room to sit on the couch near me. She put her arms around me for a moment, then kept her hand on my arm. I drew strength from her presence, and attempted to keep my face closed off from my emotions.

"That was the worst part..." I said shakily. "They knew what she was afraid of. And it all it took was one spell, a few mumbled words, to knock her off her feet and take away the strong, cheerful look on her face..." I stopped speaking and looked down at my boots, ashamed at showing how I felt so easily.

I sensed more than saw Yuna move from her chair in front of me to the other side of the couch, and I felt her hand clasp mine. For me, this feeling of drawing strength from others was a new, foreign sensation. And these two girls, at this one moment of time, had strength to spare for me. I knew I helped them out at other times, and this was their way of repaying me, but it still felt... different.

"Well, there's only one thing to do, ya?" Wakka said.

Lulu nodded at him, her face glowing with understanding. "We find her."

"And we save her," Yuna added.

I looked from face to face. Wakka's face showed the excitement, worry, and admiration. Yuna's face showed determination and strength. Lulu's showed concern and love for us all. "You don't have to do this..." I said. "I can go alone... You can have your peace we all worked so hard for..."

"No."

"We're going."

"Whether you like it or not."

And with those last words, I knew the journey had only just begun.


	11. The Sky Decided To Cry

**AN: Yeah. I just finished FFX for the second time, and man did I cry my eyes out! lol, Does that make me pathetic in some way? Probably... Oh well. **

**I came to a decision on my song dilema... I'll just have Rikku sing it or Auron write it. I figure I can stick the songs on the top for my next story, but to have it happen right in the middle would be kinda... odd. But thanks for answering my question!**

**The song is "Amy Hit the Atmosphere" by Counting Crows. Anyone else have some good songs that they could think of that might go with this story? Do tell if you do!**

**Whoa, this is a kinda long Author's Note. Oh well.**

**Big kisses out to my reviewers!!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own a damn thing.**

It came slowly at first.

One drop. Then, there was two. Finally, a third drop convinced me to look at the sky.

The second my eyes traveled upward, the clouds opened up and rain started to pour. I smiled to myself, and instead of taking my coat from the sand, like a normal person, I kept it off, relishing in the cool wetness.

I was sitting on the beach, wasting time, waiting for the arrangements to be made for the new journey. Although I should have felt antsy, I felt a dead calm in my soul, which was a bit frightening for me. It was the feeling I got before I led Braska to his death. It was the feeling I got before I saw Jecht for the last time, or when I thumped Kimarhi on the chest before I was sent.

It was the exact feeling I had when Rikku walked away from me, that day so long ago in Macalania Woods.

But sitting in the rain? That was a different feeling... a _good_ feeling.

Remembering a song from another time, I started to sing again...

_"I should have known better..."_

_My hands were still reaching for her as I saw the last traces of Rikku's faded orange tanktop fade between the trees. My fingers were shaking as I dropped my hand to my side, closing my eyes tightly._

_And at that moment of time, the sky decided to cry._

_Rational thoughts attempted to flood my mind. "I can't go after her. I can't tell her the truth. I'm just going to have to let both of us suffer, because the secrets I'm keeping are far too painful to let her worry about."_

_But, the unrational part of my mind somehow won, and without a second thought, I started to run after her._

_I felt like the wind, in a way. Never did I ever have a reason to run so fast, to find someone so quickly as I did right then. The trees blew past me, branches hitting my face, but still I ran. Rain pelted my face as I ran. I ran as far and as fast as I could, down the skinny dirt path, until I found something worth stopping for._

_A glimpse of blonde hair between the leaves, to my right. I quickly turned, and drew my katana out to slash at the branches in my way. _

_But, before I could lift it, I heard something that changed my mind._

_"_If I could make it rain today

And wash away this sunny day down to the gutter

I would

Just to get a change of pace

Things are getting worse but I feel a lot better

And that's all that really matters to me."

_I stopped for a moment, and listened. Rikku's melodic voice traveled on the breeze, giving my ears a gift I had never really heard before that day. Sure, she sang on the pilgrimage, but never like that. Never, ever, with so much feeling._

_I slipped my katana onto my back again, and slid in between the branches, trying to make the least noise as possible. I kept my eye on the light shining from her blonde hair, kept my ears on the song, and let Rikku lead my way._

"Amy hit the atmosphere

Caught herself a rocket ride out of this gutter and

She's never coming back, I fear

But any time it rains,

She just feels a lot better

And that's all that really matters to me

We've waited so long for someone to take us back home

It just takes so long

And meanwhile the days go drifting away

And some of us sink like a stone

Waiting for mothers to come."

_She was sitting on the edge of another pond, deep in the woods of Macalania. Her faded orange shirt was soaking wet and ripped in a few places. She had more mud covering her legs than I would have liked to deal with, but she seemed comfortable with it. She seemed completely at ease with the rain, and with herself._

_And it was that moment of time, more than any other, that it hit me._

_I was in love with Rikku._

"There has to be a change, I'm sure

Today was just a day fading into another

And that can't be what a life is for

The only thing she said was she feels a lot better

And that's all that really matters to me

We've waited so long for someone to take us back home

It just takes so long

And meanwhile the days go drifting away

And some of us sink like a stone

Waiting for mothers to come

All I really know is

I want to know

And all I really know is I don't want to know

All I really know is

I want to know

And all I really know is I don't want to know_"_

_Her voice faded with the end of the song just as I stepped onto the ground behind her. My boot squished into the mud, and I winced. _

_I knew I had given myself away._

_She spun faster than I could have imagined, facing me with shock written all over her beautiful features. The string that usually held her hair up was long gone, leaving her dripping wet hair falling over her face. Her skin was clean, damp, and glowing. The spirals of her emerald eyes faded from shock to defiance, and she stood her ground silently, waiting for me to make the first move._

_I felt, more than made myself, move forward. My fingertips grazed the features of her face as I raised my hand. The other hand grabbed her waist, pulling her towards me. _

_"Auron," she gasped._

_I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a grin as I whispered the very words of the song she sang back to her. "But any time it rains, she just feels alot better, and that's all that really matters to me..." _

_And with those words, and the fact that I loved her ringing in my head, I tipped my head downward and touched my lips to hers._

The sound of an airship broke me out of my thoughts, and I felt the touch of a cool hand to my neck. I glanced up slowly, and saw the rest of the group standing calmly in the rain, smiling at me.

"Sir Auron, it's time," Yuna said gently.

"That it is," I said while I got up. "Your uncle's airship?"

Yuna shook her head in disagreement. "No... someone else I met a few months ago. She said I could use her airship whenever I needed to, so I decided to take her up on the offer. This will help us find Rikku faster, don't you think?"

I nodded without really paying attention, my mind still stuck on the memory from before. The door to the airship then opened, and Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu moved towards it slowly. I followed a few steps behind them, but then stopped.

I just had to turn to see one last glimpse of the storm before we left.


	12. Goodbye Means Nothing At All

**AN: Yeah, about the lyrics... I lied, lol.**

**This isn't going to follow X-2, I swear! I just thought I should clarify a bit about what Yuna and Rikku had been doing for the past few years.**

**Hope you like this one...**

**Disclaimer: Hmmm... what do I own? NOT A DAMN THING!**

_I know where you hide_

_Alone in your car_

_Know all of the things that make you who you are_

_I know that goodbye means nothing at all_

_Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls_

_Tap on my window, knock on my door_

_I want to make you feel beautiful_

**- "She Will Be Loved" **by Maroon 5

A young woman glanced up as we entered the airship, red eyes glinting in the light. My gazed traveled over her, noticing her dark clothes, covered in belts and skulls, and the way that her silver hair flipped up on top of her head. She had the dark, brooding, moody girl look down pat. She didn't say a word, but instead waited for us to make a move.

I liked her instantly.

Yuna jumped past me, nearly pushing me into the doorway. "PAINE!" she screamed as she flung herself into Paine's arms, giving her a huge hug.

The corners of Paine's mouth turned up in a smile. "Hello Yuna." Then, she looked at the rest of us. By the way she nodded at Wakka and Lulu, I had a feeling that she had met them before.

But when her eyes met mine, a bit of shock went into them. "Sir... Sir Auron? Is that really you?" she asked.

I nodded, smiling a bit at her. "Are you the pilot?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "I had to do a few jobs before getting my baby here, but with Yuna and Rikku's help, it wasn't even a problem."

"Help?" I asked.

"Yuna was a sphere hunter, ya?" Wakka joined in.

I looked at all of them like they were insane. "Sphere hunter?"

Lulu looked sympathetic as she started explaining, which bothered me some. It made me remember how during the pilgrimage, everyone would pooh pooh all of Tidus' questions. Actually, I did that too, but hey, I couldn't help it. I had to deal with the kid for years, you know. "Sphere hunters search all over Spira for spheres of Spira's past, and get payed by the various groups who collect them for research."

"Oh, I see," I said. Then, I thought for a moment about what Paine had said just before. "Wait... was Rikku a sphere hunter too?"

Yuna glanced at Paine with laughter in her eyes, making me feel like the village idiot. "Rikku got us all into sphere hunting, Sir Auron. She and her brother were the head of the Gullwings and they recruited Paine as one of their hunters. Then, I needed something to do, so I started helping out too."

"But we're all on vacation at the moment. Yuna went back to Besaid, Rikku went to Luca to play Blitzball for awhile, and I decided to finally buy my airship," Paine added in.

The group paused, realizing that Paine had no idea about Rikku's recent whereabouts. "About Rikku..." Lulu started.

Paine saw our worried faces and her face fell. "What's going on?"

"Rikku was kidnapped earlier this morning," I put simply.

It took a few minutes for the news to finally sink in. Finally, Paine looked up at the rest of us, put on a brave face, and said, "Well then, where to? We need to start somewhere."

"You said Rikku was in Luca, right?" Wakka asked. Paine nodded, surprised that he was actually saying something useful. "Well, then why don't we start there, ya?"

"Bevelle is the more obvious choice, Wakka," Lulu argued.

"Which is probably why we shouldn't go there, Lu."

"Wakka's right. Besides, if we're in Luca, we can ask around and find out if Rikku was involved in anything that would result in this kidnapping," Yuna agreed.

"Paine," I started, which caused her head to jerk up in surprise, "How fast can you get us to Luca?"

"About an hour, Sir Auron."

"And Bevelle?"

"About four."

"Luca it is then," I smiled.

I spent the hour waiting to get to Luca, and the first few hours we were there, doing absolutly nothing useful. The others ran around all over town, asking everyone questions, getting the news involved and everything. I actually saw that annoying young girl that always hung around the temples during Yuna's pilgrimage running around with Yuna, holding a microphone. Instead of that, I spent the hours walking, searching for any sign of her spiral eyes, her exotic clothing.

I found absolutly nothing.

Afternoon grew into evening, and I was spent. After speaking with the rest of the group, I checked into the nearest inn. The clerk smiled at me and handed me my key, and I walked down the short hallway to my room.

It was small, almost to the point of claustrophobia. But, I supposed, it was something that couldn't be helped. Instead of concentration on the size of my room, I took off my coat, flopped back on my bed, and started thinking.

I knew for a fact that my extended time on Spira couldn't last forever, and I needed to let Rikku hear Lovesong. But at this moment in time, that couldn't be possible. I just wanted her to be safe... safe with me.

Moonlight spilled into my window as I laid there, analyzing everything.

A tap on my window snapped me out of my light sleep.

I sat up, shaking my head slightly. What the hell was that?

I listened carefully for another noise, but the world was still for the next few moments. I calmed down a bit and leaned back, resting my head against the soft pillow.

Then, another soft noise came from near my doorway. I bristled again, tensly waiting. The doorknob turned slightly, and made a soft click. Pale yellow light made it's way into my eyes.

Someone with a dark cloak edged their way into my room, closing the door behind them.

Feeling that there was no time left to lose, I catapulted from my bed, jumping on top of the intruder. I felt the swift hit of a knee into my stomach, but I knocked them down easily. We rolled around a few times, but they didn't try to hurt me, surprisingly. After a minute, I finally rolled on top of the dark cloaked person, sat on their stomach and held their hands above their head.

They squrimed a bit, and a soft wimper made it's way to my ears.

I felt strange, but I kept my pose. Moving one of their dainty wrists near the other, I held them down with one hand, and reached above my head to switch the light on.

As the soft, pale light filled the room, my breath caught in my throat.

"Auron..." Rikku whispered painfully.

I scrambled off of her stomach, let go of her hands, and situated myself a few feet away from her. The hood of her cloak came off of her head, and was covered with soft waves of her loose blonde hair. The dark material was sheer, covering her deep red tanktop and loose black pants. She had changed again, in the period of a day.

But those spirals in her green eyes, they never failed to be the same.

"Rikku..." I choked out, tears starting to come to my eyes. "I'm so sorry..."

"Auron..." she breathed. Then, to my absolute surprise, Rikku closed the gap between us and drew me into her arms. "I missed you so much..."


	13. Dnyedunc

**AN: School is here, so I'll probably be updating a bit less than usual. But, no worries, because I finally got my groove back! NEW IDEAS YAAAAAAAY!**

**I really thought the last chapter I wrote was my best one, but I only got a few reviews... Are you guys just reading through and not reviewing? Or have you just stopped reading all together? It made me feel kinda bad, but I got some big ideas, so I'm still going to be posting.**

**Big smooches to my happy reviewers, you always make my day.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own a damn thing.**

_Through the night we were waiting for a sign_

_Maybe rendered in the darkened sky_

_Drawn by imaginary lines_

_Connecting radiant points of light_

_(Please don't go...)_

_Cause you showed up with your hair down_

_And I might not sleep tonight_

**- "Walking Downtown" **by _Copeland_

I gazed down at her beautiful face in shock. "Rikku... What.. What are you doing here?"

Her blonde locks glinted in the lamplight as she detangled herself from my arms. She sat back on her heels, staring at me with her wide, green eyes. She kept her hands in her lap, playing with the black, satin ribbon holding her cloak together at her neck. Then, her lips parted and she spoke.

I held my breath.

"Well... A lot has happened lately, Auron," Rikku said simply. She then stood up and started pacing back and forth around my cramped room. Back and forth, from the window to the doorway. Her hands were clenched at her sides as she paused, gazing out the window. "My dad... Cid... well..." she sighed with tears in her eyes. "Something bad happened to him."

I started to get a bad feeling about what she was implying, but I had to ask. "What happpened?"

She continued to glance outside at the sky, almost as if she wasn't really in the conversation. I moved from off of the floor closer to her, but she shook her head, keeping me at arms length. Slighty hurt, I sat on my bed, waiting for her reply.

"While you were... well, wherever you were, there was an Al Bhed revolution. I didn't realize how bad it had become until yesterday, when I was kidnapped. Apparently, the dnyedunc broke into my father's airship a few days ago. They planted... Well, they planted a bomb..." she hiccuped then, trying to hold back her tears.

"Oh God..." I breathed.

"... and they killed my dad."

Time seemed to stop. I couldn't breathe. I jumped up off of the bed and ran towards her, pulling her into my arms. The flood broke loose, and she cried into my chest, grasping at the material of my shirt, soaking my skin. I mumbled words of love and comfort into her hair, but I knew that she couldn't hear my voice.

Her mind was lost somewhere in the horrors of the past few days.

"And," she sobbed, "they came after me because I'm the next one in my family to lead my people. I was trapped in a dark room but I paid a guard to let me sneak to a proper bathroom for a few minutes, and I escapted out of a window. When I hit the ground, I realized that I was just outside of Luca, and came here to find you."

Every word that she said was imprinted into my brain, but there was one thing that didn't seem to make sense. "Rikku," I whispered. She nodded into my chest, waiting for what I had to say. "You're now the leader of the Al Bhed? Queen, so to speak?"

She leaned back to look at my face. "You could say that," she whispered.

I held her for ages, stroking her hair and praying for just one moment of peace. Here was my beautiful Rikku, sobbing her eyes out because some assholes decided to take over her people. It wasn't fair that she was caught up in the middle of the politics, especially since she didn't ever seem that interested in them.

And, because of something she wasn't even interested in, she lost her dad.

She stirred a bit, moving out of the circle of my arms. Sighing, she gazed back out of the window, her hand splayed against the glass. I stood back, letting her get her bearings.

"Everything will turn out okay, Rikku," I said, trying to comfort her.

She sighed in a way that made my heart break for her. "I highly doubt it."

We were silent for what seemed like hours. "What are you suppposed to do now that you're the new leader?" I wondered outloud.

She turned back towards me, her eyes still pointing towards the ground. "See... that's the thing. I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to do. My dad," her voice broke for a second, "... he had Sin to worry about. How we were going to survive Home being destoryed, numerous times. But, all I have is the fucking revolution," she growled, her eyes squinting in fury. "And, I have to worry about being killed by the same dnyedunc that killed my dad."

Dnyedunc... _Traitors..._ That's what she meant...

Her shoulders tensed up as she spun back towards the window, refusing to look at me. "And Brother... What is he supposed to do? He was supposed to be the real leader, not me. But, he decided to give it up years ago, and the stupid job was passed on to me. How am I supposed to do this, Auron? How can I deal with this?"

I cleared my throat. "Rikku... As hard as it may seem, you have to get past this." I stopped for a moment, and tried to think of things that I used to tell her on the pilgrimage. "Dwelling in the past is futile. You must concentrate on the task at hand, and hope for the best."

She stopped for a moment, hurt and shock covering her delicate features. Then, a mask covered her face, and I _knew _that I had said the wrong thing.

"That's all well and good for you to say, _Sir_ Auron," she hissed. "Noble stoic... That's you to a T."

I felt myself step back away from her, trying to sheild myself from the tone of her voice. I opened my mouth to say something... better, I guess. Something much more suitable than what I had just said, but she kept speaking before I could get it out.

"Why did I even come here for anyway?" she whispered. "I should have just dealt with this alone."

I shrunk back as if I had been slapped. I was only trying to help, but as usual, I screwed that up, didn't I? I spun around and started walking towards the door, swiping my coat as I walked past. The door clicked open, and I turned back towards her.

Rikku's emerald eyes were covered with tears. "No... wait..." she choked out.

I stood silently, waiting.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean it, honest. Please don't go," she whispered urgently, wringing her hands in front of her. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she pleaded with me. "I need you so much... Please don't leave me again..."

"Oh, Rikku," I breathed. I dropped my coat, let go of the door, and quickly went back to her side. Her lower lip quivered as I wrapped my arms around her in an embrace. My hands stroked her hair as I kissed the top of her head. "I won't leave, I promise you. I _swear _to you that I'll never leave you again."


	14. Running Out Of Time

**_Computer exploded, guys... I'll try to crank some stuff out, but it's hard when I can only use the school one. Hope you like the new chapter..._**

**I'll wear my badge: a vinyl sticker   
****With big block letters adherent to my chest   
****That tells your new friends I am a visitor here:   
****I am not permanent   
****And the only thing keeping me dry is where I am...   
****You seem so out of context in this guady apartment complex   
****A stranger with your door key explaining that I am just visiting   
****And I am finally seeing why I was the one worth leaving**

**-**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by _The Postal Service_

"Sweetie, you're running out of time," Rachelle murmered into my ears.

I sat up quickly, glancing around myself to find the source of her voice. To my surprise, I was in the exact place I remembered falling asleep, in the hotel bed. A quick glance to my side reassured me that Rikku had finally fallen asleep, after hours of talking and worrying. Darkness enveloped the entire room, and I could barely make out Rachelle's smile from her spot at the foot of my bed.

Jenae, on the other hand, was leaning over Rikku, tears running down her pale face.

"Oh shit," I breathed. "Jenae, what's wrong? What's going on?" I rose from the bed, my pants and shirt still rumpled from Rikku's tears. Jenae glanced up, quickly wiped off her face, and turned away from me.

"Nothing that can't be fixed, Auron," she mumbled, arms locking around her sides, closing herself in. "I'm just shocked at finally seeing her up close. I never did get to see her when she was born, but I remember exactly what it was like with her mom being pregnant." She turned a bit, her hand trailing over Rikku's facial features, then finally brushing a few blonde locks of hair out of Rikku's eyes. "Oh dear, sweet, little Rikku. Your dad, my brother, was such a nervous wreck before you were born, worrying about your mom. He could hardly put one foot in front of the other! And now look at you... You're finally here, but your mom and dad are gone. An orphan, just like my baby. What did you and Yuna ever do to deserve such misery?" she whispered, before the tears overcame her again.

Rachelle leaned over and took one of Jenae's hands and rubbed it between her fingers. "Rikku and Yuna are strong girls, Jenae. I have faith that they will always overcome every obsticle that threatens them, including death."

"As do I," I whispered, remembering my own death.

We were all silent for a moment, staring off into space, lost in our own spinning thoughts. But, finally, Rachelle broke the silence. "Cid made it to the Farplane last night," she whispered quietly.

I quickly lifted my head, glancing at her face, but she was staring off at the patterns on the bedsheets, eyes cloudy and unfocused. "Do you know what happened?"

Her eyes finally met mine. "He was betrayed," she said in such a hushed tone that I had to strain to hear her. "He was betrayed by someone close to him. One of his very own people. I've heard whispers of an Al Bhed Revolution for months upon months now, but I never, ever believed it to be true. Apparently it is... The traitors have been trying to overthrow the royal family and take over. They must have a spy somewhere in Rikku's family."

A lump formed in my throat, and I felt cold dread taking over my entire body. "And, what of Rikku?" I choked out.

"As the next in line to be the leader of her people, she is next on the list."

"Which means?" I snapped, already knowing the answer.

"What do you think she means, stupid?" My head snapped in the direction of the new, familiar voice, hidden in the darkest corner of the room.

To my surprise, Cid ducked into the light, followed by Braska, and then Jecht in the rear. All three had grave expressions on their faces.

I started patting my face, the sheets, the bed posts... anything in order to find some sort of reality where I was. "I must be dreaming... I must, I must," I whispered.

"Snap out of it, Auron," Jecht said. "Obviously, we've come from the Farplane to help."

"It was the least that we could do," Braska added.

I looked at both of their faces, and finally understood the horrible situation that I had gotten myself into. My eyes scanned the room, from Jenae and Rachelle sitting on my bed, to their husbands behind them, and finally, to Cid's face. He stared back.

"What," he spit out, "do you think that Rachelle meant?"

"Rikku... she cannot die! I won't let her! I will do anything to protect her," I growled.

"That's what we were counting on, Auron," Braska nodded. "But, if Rikku does not die..."

"Someone else goes in her place," Jenae whispered.

No... no... My head spun with all of the implications of that sentence. I had to protect my love, but if she didn't die... "Not me..." I breathed. "Not when I just got a second chance.... They wouldn't do this to us..."

"They? You're the one in control here," Cid growled.

"And someones death is on the cards tonight, Auron. You've just got the fun job of making the choice," Jecht said.

"No... no... Please no... They can't do this to us... We've just found each other again... Please no..." For once, I felt my emotions getting the best of me. My head was spinning, my throat was cracking, and my eyes were tearing up. All of the hope and promises... Was that all to be thrown away?

Braska laid a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, eyes simmering with an emotion from years before. He had the same look of bravery and resolve that I saw on his face before he marched himself and Jecht to their deaths. "This is your choice, Auron. The traitors will find you tonight, regardless of whether you stay or run. The spies are everywhere."

"And they know exactly where she is at this very moment. They're just waiting for the best moment to strike."

"But... the song... she hasn't even heard the song yet," I said, scrambling for something that could keep us together.

"The song will not change the outcome of tonight. Both of you are in danger, but if someone else goes, she will still have some time. Another death could buy her time, Auron."

"...But not completely save her. Am I correct? She still will be on the run, until she is killed and both of our deaths would be in vain."

"That is the chance you will have to take tonight."

"Someone needs to go in her place."

"She has a much bigger purpose than what we all thought. She has a much bigger impact on Spira than what was originally planned. But the choice is yours."

Their faces all seemed to melt together, their voices all made one sound. I nodded feebly, agreeing with what they were saying. Of course she had a much bigger purpose. That's my Rikku they were talking about. She wasn't even supposed to make a blip on the radar of my life, but look at what happened.

Rachelle gasped, looking at her hands. They were fading.

"Well, Auron, that seems to be our exit cue," Jecht smiled. "Good luck, old man."

"Good bye, sweetie," Rachelle and Jenae gave me hugs and feeble smiles. Braska nodded in my direction, before the four of them faded away. Cid started to turn, but stopped and turned back.

"Look, Auron," he said, clasping my shoulders. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but you've always taken good care of my baby girl. This is your last stint as a legendary guardian. Please protect her."

I nodded in agreement. "I would do anything for Rikku."

"See to it that you keep that promise," he nodded before he faded away.

My head hit the pillow before I even realized it, and the world simply faded away.


End file.
